The Christmas Push
by starpower31
Summary: Maybe it was those raging teenage hormones that people often raved about, maybe it was a cupid up there who shot them with togetherness, maybe it was a Christmas miracle. Or maybe, just maybe, it was fate. An OS as of now.


**Hello, my little loves 3 I know I've been gone forever, leaving half-assed stories in my wake, but hey! I got into med school, so I'll give you free medical advice over PM (after 5 years coz I just got in) to make up for it hehe. **

**Well, winter's here (duh) and Christmas is coming up, so I thought I'd just write out this little thing to celebrate love. It's a tiny OS for now, but if I get a favorable response, I might continue it for a few chapters.**

**SO, The Christmas Push is a short, silly, falling-hard-and-fast, story that may or may not be extended. **

**MERRY CHRISTMAS IN ADVANCE PEOPLE!**

**Not beta'd. So beware.**

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**THE CHRISTMAS PUSH**

Mr. Duvall sloppily made his way across the white stage at Forks High School and, taking the white mike in his clammy hands, cleared his throat. Being around these many idiots—sorry, high schoolers—always made him sweaty and tentative. And this particular batch…they were something else.

Nonetheless, he put a bright smile on his face and belted into the mike. "Hello, brilliant students of the 2014 batch of FHS! How are we doing today?"

He needn't have bothered though. All these sentimental teenagers were so drunk they just hooted anyway; and those who weren't, they murmured insults under their breaths.

Mr. Duvall cleared his throat again and scratched his brow. "Uh…okay so the Winter Snow King for 2014 is…any guesses?"

Everyone just hooted and swore in chorus.

The principal rolled his eyes. "Right. So the Winter King for 2014 is Edward Masen," he finished, without a pause this time.

There was a lot more hollering and "motherfuck"s and "king of the dicks" and "I love you Edward"s. Miss Sherry gladly took the large, white, velvet crown and placed it on Edward Masen's head with a flourish and a girly giggle. He was too cute, all flushed and grinning, so she ran her palms over his jaw. Her name _was_ sherry after all.

Edward laughed as his drama teacher molested his face, but gently removed her hands. He knew he wasn't quite unfortunate looking, but being pawed by a teacher was too much for him. Grinning under the weight of his crown—but mostly from the tequila he'd consumed—Edward took his white staff from Miss Sherry and stood off to the side to wait for his queen.

Just as Mr. Duvall took the mike again, something hit Edward hard in the face. Automatically reaching for it, he held it up and bent over his waist laughing. It was pink lace panties. He held it up like a trophy and waved it to the crowd, basking in the love of his batchmates, basking in the final-ness of senior year. And basking in the horni-ness of holding pink lace panties.

Meanwhile in the hundreds of barely-adults huddled inside the gym, the girls all held their breath as they waited for the coveted Winter Queen title to be proclaimed. While most pretended to not give a shit about titles—lest they be sniggered at if they didn't end up winning—some swore by the fact that no one was better than them in whole of Forks. But, on the inside, everyone knew there was one stunning girl who was in a league of her own.

Mr. Duvall didn't bother with anticipatory pauses or real interaction this time around, choosing instead to end the routine and go home to his beer as soon as he could. "And the Winter Queen for 2014 is Isabella Swan."

And there it was. The name of one of the very best Forks ever had to offer. The entire student body went berserk cat-calling, wolf-whistling, and there was even a chorus of "here comes the queen", as Isabella Swan gracefully accepted her tiara with a beatific smile and the instant-boner blush (as famous in FHS since their middle school days). Her fitting, white, floor-length dress with a sweetheart neckline melted so many hearts that day, that, as rumor has it, the FHS boys bathroom was more like a fapfest.

While all these other kids celebrated the crowning of their very favorite FHSers, Bella and Edward shared but a perfunctory nod and stood as far from each other as space would allow.

As luck would have it, Edward and Bella had hated each other since the day Bella had slapped Edward in front of the entire senior class without preamble. That was a story for later though.

One could hear the students of Forks High often sigh that hate was the most passionate of all emotions, and with Bella and Edward being _Bella_ and _Edward_, they were bound to end up together. After all, how could two people so complete individually ever live with someone anything but?

Even though she would have to have that "first dance" with Edward Masen now, nothing could tar the happiness of the moment for Bella. There she was, a wisp of a girl in this big world who'd lived to make her small-town parents proud, being crowned Queen and with an acceptance letter at home into Dartmouth pre-med.

So as Mr. Duvall yelled at the drunken kids to make space for the King and Queen, Bella happily placed her hand in Edward's as they took to the dance floor.

Edward, on the other hand, was so mesmerized by the glow on Bella's face that he temporarily forgot all enmity they may ever have shared. Her dress flowed down her supple body like water, and as he put his arm around her waist and pulled her close for that dance, he couldn't even remember his own _name_, let alone concentrate on the gasps filling the room. So lost he was in her brown eyes—he'd thought she had gray eyes—that he felt like he'd finally found himself. How had he never noticed any of this before? He was simply overwhelmed by the magnanimity of the situation he found himself in.

He cursed the alcohol in his system because it hindered his unbiased view of her face; he cursed the dim lights that made her features less sharp. How could anyone hate this beautiful person?

And he just hadn't known.

Because he'd never bothered to _look_.

_Flightless Bird_ began to play, and Edward briefly wondered why they would play this sad song on what was probably the best day of his life.

Regardless, he began to sway them to the beats, keeping her close, his eyes on hers, and his heart beating like a hummingbird.

Bella, on the other hand, couldn't believe what was happening. The entire hall was engulfed in silence as _Edward Masen_ stared at her like she was an oasis in the desert, as _Edward Masen_ swayed her to this god-awful song like he couldn't bear to part from her. It was all too much and the poor girl's head was spinning. The vodka they'd drained earlier definitely wasn't helping matters.

"Bella…" Edward whispered. _Isn't she feeling what I'm feeling? How is this possible? I feel as though my entire focus in life has shifted to her, and she's just standing there looking…confused? What _is_ this?_

"Edward…what? I don't—Edward please let me go," she begged, unable to bear the adoration in his green eyes._ Weren't his eyes blue? I always thought they were blue…_

Let her go? But…he couldn't.

He didn't want to—he _couldn't_ lose this feeling of wholeness he felt with her. _How does she not feel this?_

So, he smiled hesitantly and ran his thumb across the apple of her cheek as his palm cupped her jaw. "Bella, you feel it, don't you? This intense need to be close to me? You have to feel it, because if you don't, then I might be going mad, Bella. Tell me you feel it too."

And she did. She felt her heart seal where she never knew there was a gap in the first place. But what _was_ this? Maybe it was something they ate. This instinctual connect she felt to him boggled her mind and twisted her soul. They'd barely been acquaintances for fifteen years, hated each other for three years next, never even looking at the other's face without contempt and judgment in their eyes, and now here they were…what? _Coddling_? It _had_ to be something they'd eaten.

She immediately pushed away, and then she immediately felt emptiness.

Edward's face twisted into one of shock as she was suddenly out of reach and he was left feeling nothing once again. He couldn't go back to feeling like this, he wouldn't survive it. That, this young man knew for certain.

Bella pointed an accusing finger at him. "You dumped Jess without a reason in 10th grade after dating her for _two years_ and the poor girl was sobbing her heart out. You're heartl—" But the words wouldn't come out, because looking into his lost eyes now, she knew, she _knew_ he wasn't heartless. She finally whispered, "You're supposed to be heartless, Edward."

He blinked.

Had it been any other time, he'd have laughed his heart out. But right then, all he could manage was a weak chuckle. "What even? Okay, firstly, I dumped her because she cheated on me." Again, it went unnoticed by these two that the music had stopped, and that another collective gasp had gone up and had been missed. Also unnoticed were the one hundred fifty accusing eyes directed toward one pale Jessica Stanley. This day was sure to go down in FHS history. "And secondly, why would you even bring her up right now?"

_What?_ Bella spluttered, "B-but she told…I…" Her eyes went wide and she covered her mouth in horror. "I slapped you because I thought you were callous enough to dump her for no reason." Her hands dropped and wrapped around her torso. "I…I hated you because I thought you were an opportunistic jerk."

_Wait. What?_ "You slapped me over _Jessica Stanley_?"

Was this real? Had he missed out on so much because of _Jessica Stanley_?

Suddenly angry, Bella fisted the lapel of his coat and glared at him. She said something, but all Edward could think was, _she's so beautiful, so gorgeous. Jesus…_

"Edward!" she scolded. _You perfect, stunning creature, Edward Masen…_

"What?" he asked innocently, blinking.

"I said, why didn't you even ask me for an explanation all this time, huh?" She was so angry. They could've avoided this stupid mess if he'd only not taken that slap as gracefully as he had. If only, instead of hating her from afar, he'd confronted her!

He felt…fucking liberated. With just one look into her eyes, he could tell she was as into him as he was her.

And that made him as the happiest motherfucker on the planet.

There was no stopping the delighted, yet amused, smirk on his face even as he gently held her by the biceps and said, "Because you wouldn't come within ten feet of me, Isabella Swan, you stubborn woman."

She melted, smiling, she wound her arms around his neck. "Well, I'm here now. And I think…I think we have a lot to catch up on."

Edward slipped his arms around her slender waist and gripped her tightly. "I'm hoping we'll have a lot of time for that in the coming future, Bella." When she closed her eyes for a beat, only to open them with an emotion so blissful that it floored Edward, he wasn't hesitant to say his next words as he spread a hand over the side of her neck and the other over her temple. "May I kiss you?"

Bella grinned, all teeth and giddiness, nodding her assent as her fingers curled in Edward's soft auburn hair.

And that's how Edward and Bella shared their first kiss.

Maybe it was those raging teenage hormones that people often raved about, maybe it was a cupid up there who shot them with togetherness, maybe it was a Christmas miracle. Or maybe, just maybe, it was fate.

Maybe these feelings were all an alcohol-induced-blindness and winner's rush result. Or maybe they weren't.

And how mind-blowing would their lives be if it was, in fact, not a false alarm?

That particular winter dance tradition went down in FHS history as the dance where anyone could find their soulmate if they took a chance and just…looked.

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**So? Thoughts?**

**Leave a review in here to let me know you remember me, to wish me Christmas or just give me shit about the cheesiness of this piece.**

**Till the next time!**


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